Sleek and Smooth
by Bunny Fair
Summary: His old scales mocked him. He had to get rid of them. At least Alice was there to comort him and even bring some lotion for him.


Katakuri frowned at the dull, loose scales on his tail. They mocked him. The bright pink stripes reaching down several feet from his waist were blurred and ugly, the sleek black had lost all shine, and the entire thing looked wrinkled and dull. Not to mention it was getting tight and generally annoying.

He softly sighed and stretched out, laying across the sunny rocks. The bright rays warmed his back while his lower half rested contently in the large, clear lake. He closed his eyes, his head resting on a plush pillow. According to Alice, it was a king-sized pillow. However, it was still a bit small.

He hummed, relaxing as the water lapped comfortingly against his waist. For once, he was perfectly content and all was calm and peaceful. The sun and the rocks were warm and the cool water made it perfect. He could easily take a nap.

At least, until a loud splash and laughter interrupted his peace. He let out a sigh, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the area. A towel and clothes were laid out away from the water with a small, red cooler sitting beside the towel.

He eyed the cooler and frowned when the water shifted closer to him, flicking his eyes down when some arms wrapped around his waist. "Gotcha!"

He rolled his eyes and easily twisted to lay on his back, looking down at the short haired woman clinging to him. "You got a haircut."

Alice smiled and nodded, perching to sit on the thick part of his tail. "I did. Oh, are you shedding?"

He nodded, looking down at her two piece bathing suit. "Sadly. I wasn't expecting you."

She shrugged and gently picked at the old skin. "Is it time to shed? Like, get all this off?"

He tilted his head, watching as she continued to pick at it with her nail. "It's close. I was soaking to soften it."

She nodded and perked up. "Oh, since I rode my bike out, I brought more stuff. And I even brought some lotion, so perfect timing."

He nodded and shifted, letting the back part of his scales catch on the rocks. "You can swim if you'd like. This doesn't take long."

She smiled, reaching up to grip his shoulders. "Okay, kiss first."

He chuckled softly and leaned down, gently pressing his lips to hers. She hummed happily and gently kissed one sharp tooth when she slowly pulled away. His eyes softened and he gently squeezed her hips before letting her go.

She hummed happily and slowly swam away, pushing off some rocks. He watched her and moved once she was well away, rubbing against the rocks as he slowly pushed himself out of the water fully. He nodded to himself as it folded back neatly and grabbed the folded edge, pushing it off the rest of his tail.

Frowning at the lingering pieces, he grabbed them and merely tugged them off with an expert hand. Years of handling his yearly sheds without his brothers help had made him more than an expert. Looking over and feeling his tail, he nodded firmly when he was finished.

Alice smiled at him as she watched, her head tilted to rest in her cheek. "What do you do with the excess?"

Katakuri shrugged and bundled up the long skin, merely rolling it up in his hands. "I have no use for it so I burn it. I've heard that it may have healing properties too, but no one dares to bother me anymore."

She giggled softly and pushed herself to sit up on the warm rocks. "I know, I've heard all the rumors. Your sisters have told me plenty."

He hummed and scooped her up, ignoring the skin on the ground and smiling at her squeak of surprise. "Let's try that lotion. It's at my home."

She giggled and smiled widely, nodding. "I do have grapes in my cooler, though."

He shrugged and merely continued home, easily following the discreet path he had made over time. "I'll get them later. Along with your towel and clothes."

She nodded firmly, crossing her arms in a weak attempt to look intimidating. "Good."

He let a small smirk escape at her firm tone and nodded, taking in the bicycle leaning against the entrance of the cave. Two large duffle bags were perched on the stone, sitting in the shade. "You brought more."

She smiled slightly, standing up when he set her down on the cool stone. "Of course I did. I got more books for you and some games for us both to play."

He nodded, stretching out his tail across the warm rocks in the slowly-lowering sun. "Sounds fun."

She nodded rapidly, tugging out a large shirt to toss over herself before digging around her bag a bit more. She straightened up with a happy cheer, a large bottle wrapped up in some plastic bags in her hands. "Okay, just lay there like that, perfect as you are, and I will lotion you up."

He chuckled softly and laid back, crossing his arms behind his head. "As you wish."

She smiled and padded over into the sunlight, unwrapping the bottle to squirt a large glob into her hands. He watched her through his lashes, watching her rub the cool, soothing cream onto his long tail. She softly hummed a tune, gently following the stripes that followed his dark tail.

Alice had measured him once before, using a very long tape measure. He was close to twenty feet thenn, from the tip of his tail to the top of his head. He was snake from his waist down, his waist having a scattering of scales on the surprisingly soft skin.

His scales were black for the most part, except for the bright pink vertical stripes which blended back into black between the four and half foot marks. He said they were merely a discoloration from his mother's genetics, even his brothers had their own odd colors.

She waited for him to roll over and rubbed more lotion onto her hands. "Katakuri?"

He adjusted his tail, feeling the smooth lotion help him slide across the rocks. "I do grow ever so slightly with every shed, yes. My growth has slowed significantly over time, however."

She giggled softly and smiled up at him. "You always know what I'm gonna say."

He chuckled softly, relaxing as she continued the gentle moments. "Perhaps you doubt my intelligence too much."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Are you saying I ask dumb questions?"

He tilted his head slightly, his eyes closed. "No question is a dumb question. Sometimes perhaps silly but never dumb. I merely know you quite well."

She smiled. "True, true. Nerd."

He rolled his eyes, breathing out a deep breath. "How mature."

She laughed, clapping her hands together. He softly smiled at her, taking in her bright expression and her soft squeaks. He'd never ask for a change from this. Even if his tail was much more smooth than ever and wanted to slide across the smooth rocks now.


End file.
